v1.9.0

This release improves the gradlePlugin extension by introducing a new dependencies feature. This simplifies the declaration of dependencies by organizing them into declarable buckets, enhancing support for version catalogues and improving code completion. Additionally, test suites received significant improvements.

The gradlePlugin.dependencies extension is designed to clarify intent compared to using project.dependencies. Configuring implementation dependencies with the project DependencyHandler targets the main source set, which may be misleading if developers configure the gradlePlugin.pluginSourceSet. We maintain clear intentions by deferring dependencies configuration until pluginSourceSet is finalized thanks to the dependencies extension. Future versions will assert consistency if pluginSourceSet changes unexpectedly.

Additionally, new dependency types for plugin authors allow easier and more stable dependencies on other plugins. Instead of knowing a plugin's Maven coordinates, you can now use gradlePlugin('<plugin-id>:<version>'), which returns an ExternalModuleDependency to the plugin JAR:

gradlePlugin {
    dependencies {
        implementation(gradlePlugin("com.example.my-plugin:4.2"))
    }
}

dependencies {
    compileOnly(gradlePlugin("com.example.my-plugin:4.2"))
}